The digital format used to make handwritten letters articles available on the archive may not be the best way for everyone to read the file’s content. To make the archive’s materials more accessible to a larger audience, I used optical character recognition software and hand-typed all 90 files in the archive and edited the transcriptions to create as faithful a representation of the handwritten content in a digital text format as possible. These transcriptions, in combination with the scanned archive materials, will help share the experiences of those impacted and incarcerated in a Civil Commitment Facility in Illinois.

My capstone documents the process of returning a non-Native family’s collection of Native American belongings back to the Tribes. The collection of 70 objects and 461 photo negatives was amassed by my step-grandfather during his employment with the Indian Field Service in 1938–42. In a 6,000-word written narrative, I describe the methodology that I followed toward returning the collection, and I discuss the practical and ethical entanglements raised in the undertaking of this project. This case study of repatriation documents one small step toward dismantling historical systems of oppression and exploitation, and investing in a future of Indigenous self-determination.

To counteract rising censorship of queer art and literature, we partnered with the Washington State Poet Laureate to launch an anthology of LGBTQIA+ poetry submitted by authors of all experience levels from across the state. Using web development, indexing, and design skills acquired through the MLIS program, our team built an online repository that blends the nuance of a special collections archive with the user-friendliness of a digital publication. This year, the Poet Laureate will tour the state and share the anthology as a teaching tool in support of ArtsWA’s mission to make diverse art accessible in Washington communities.

The Seattle Archdiocese Archives holds a collection of about 300 rare books from as early as the 16th century. Prior to our project, these materials were unorganized and therefore inaccessible. Throughout our time working with the collection, we assessed its contents, entered content metadata into an organized database, and ultimately made materials accessible to researchers. Our goal was to make the contents of the rare book collection findable and accessible through detailed organizational work and the development of a maintainable database.

The Covid-19 pandemic has shown the importance of making museum materials accessible to the public via the internet. While photographs are useful for this purpose, 3D models create unique opportunities to view objects from all angles. The goal for this project was to create an online toolkit that includes all the information a small cultural heritage institution needs to create 3D models of their objects and make them available online. In this way, cultural heritage institutions will be able to create more dynamic online exhibits, invite guests to see objects in new ways, preserve more fragile artifacts, and more.

This project was started to address the issue of building community engagement for special collections and archives. We noticed that there were several collections in the UW Special Collections that were not being utilized because they have not been rehoused or accessioned. We decided to attempt to create a volunteer event that would make use of these collections while increasing community awareness of Special Collections. After our initial test of the event, we have realized that although there are adjustments to be made with the event, overall, it will be beneficial to bringing people in to see the collections.

Following the 25th anniversary of its founding, the leadership at the Celtic Arts Foundation wanted to preserve the experiences of its founding. A pilot program lead by volunteers and an iSchool student was then launched to perform Oral History interviews and establish a procedure for future capture. A Policies and Procedures document was produced outlining the project for replication and many ideas for subsequent iterations were developed. The creation of Oral Histories at CAF will record Scottish culture in America for scholarly study as well as preserve institutional memory.

The Ricci Institute houses a collection of books and artifacts from China and East Asia between the 16th century to the 19th century. As a research institution, their primary focus is for scholars interested in this time period. Through this project, we realized that their presence online is only minimal at best. Teatime Treasures is a way for us to not only spread the word about this collection, but to also give the Ricci Institute an example of how they could potentially increase their digital presence, as well as showcasing their collection to a much wider and more diverse audience.

This project is to work towards a digital archive of the manuscripts, photos and other items. There is about 700 items within the collection, the main concept is to catalog them, and recommend the best practices for the archive. This opinion will establish a framework for the organization that can be perfected in the future and give an idea of the collection at hand. One of my goals for this project is to start the conversation about access to digital archives and the differences between the funding each library has access to.